Top Ten Advantages of Being Left-Handed

According to most studies, 7-10% of the adult population is left-handed, with the trait being slightly more common in men. Left-handedness is usually determined by handwriting. Most people have some degree of ambidexterity, especially southpaws who often have to adapt in order to get along in a right-handed world. In honor of all of the lefties out there, here are 10 advantages of being left-handed.

10. Never miss at a toll booth. I actually saw this one printed on a t-shirt, but it just happens to be true. Left-handed people have an advantage when handling transactions at drive-through windows. Their dominant hand is already closest to the window.

9. You're in good company. Famous lefties include musicians, politicians, scientists, comediennes, and athletes. Some of the most notable southpaws are Jimi Hendrix, Steve Young, Paul McCartney, Lewis Carrol, Dave Barry, Bill Gates, Jerry Seinfeld, and Tommy Hilfiger.

8. Get to choose your seat at the dinner table. Everyone knows you can't sit next to a lefty, otherwise you'll get your elbow bumped. Smart southpaws use this to their advantage to get a spot with more space. Unfortunately, this doesn't work as well at a circular table.

7. Have an easier time writing in Hebrew. Many Arabic languages, including Hebrew are written from right to left. This alleviates the problem that lefties have when writing.

6. Be a better baseball player. Left-handers tend to be better batters- they start out a few steps closer to first base. Besides that, it is a commonly-known fact that batters hit better when facing an opposite-hand pitcher. Since a majority of pitchers are right-handed, this naturally gives the advantage to the southpaws.

5. More ability to multi-task. In general, lefties are visual-simultaneous thinkers. This means that they see the big picture, rather than thinking in a linear fashion. Thus, they tend to be more successful at multi-tasking.

4. More creative and holistic thinker. Common thought holds that the right side of the brain (which controls the left hand), is responsible for prowess in art, music, writing, and spatial awareness.

3. Be a faster typist- on a standard qwerty keyboard there are about 3400 words that can be typed solely with the left hand, compared to about 450 words typed solely with the right hand.

2. Less time in line. Studies show that most people veer to the right if there are multiple lines to choose from, but lefties tend to choose the line on their dominant side. A Disney World guidebook states that visitors will spend much less time in line for attractions if they choose the left-hand side when given an option.

1. Have your own special day. August 13^th has been declared International Left-Handers' Day. The goal of Left-Handers Day is to increase awareness of the advantages (and difficulties) that come with being left-handed.